The living room’s roll-arm sofa was custom made; on display are works by, from left, Kehinde Wiley (through doorway), Candida Höfer, and Robert Therrien.

This article originally appeared in the March 2012 issue of Architectural Digest.

Remember that electrifying moment in television history when Dr. Kimberly Shaw ripped off her wig? Or how about the time Emily Valentine spiked Brandon’s drink at the rave? Perhaps the names Carrie, Samantha, Miranda, and Charlotte ring a bell?

As the creator of such phenomenally successful programs as Melrose Place; Beverly Hills, 90210; and Sex and the City, Darren Star has made more than a few indelible marks on the landscape of pop culture. His shows—including GCB, new on ABC this month—are sexy, frolicsome, and effervescent; no surprise that these qualities spring to life in the writer/producer’s gloriously inviting home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles as well.

The house was designed in the late 1930s by John Byers, a prolific L.A. architect who explored Spanish and Mexican traditions throughout Santa Monica, Brentwood, and Beverly Hills. In 1960 a thorough makeover credited to architect James E. Dolena, who built elegant estates for the likes of actor William Powell and director George Cukor, resulted in slender early-modernist columns and Art Deco detailing. The final combination was something that in the great grab bag of Los Angeles architectural styles might reasonably be termed Spanish Regency.

“I loved the Old Hollywood feel, especially in the spectacular rounded bar,” says Star, who purchased the property in 2005 and lived there for three years before undertaking his own renovation with architect Mark Rios. “The site is amazing,” Star adds. “You get a panorama of L.A. that sweeps from the mountains, across the city, and out to the ocean.”

Nevertheless, the TV producer concedes that a “huge face-lift” was in order to bring the house up to speed for 21st-century life. “The goal of the renovation was to make the place cleaner, hipper, and more unified in its design language,” explains Rios, whose major moves involved carving out a grand hall centered around a sculptural floating staircase; building an independent pavilion that includes a screening room, a gym, and an office; and converting the garage adjacent to the kitchen into a double-height family room that serves as a lively social space.

Beyond his own extensive contributions, Rios shaped the look and atmosphere of the house by introducing his client to the high-powered decorator Waldo Fernandez. “Waldo immediately grasped my style and knew how he could help me elevate it,” Star raves. “The house was a bit dowdy—Waldo described it as an old lady—but he understood how to make it relevant and exciting.”

TV producer Darren Star holds court in his Los Angeles residence, which was renovated by Mark Rios of Rios Clementi Hale Studios and decorated by Waldo Fernandez of Waldo’s Designs; the sculpture is by Thomas Houseago.

Fernandez accommodated Star’s frequent informal entertaining by placing a premium on comfort as well as looks. For the voluminous rooms, he designed upholstered furniture with ample stuffing, while incorporating classic pieces by Jean Royère, Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, and Eugène Printz to raise the glamour quotient. The decorator also deployed a range of items from Star’s personal collection, notably a bronze Stalagmite dining table and a set of chairs—both by the American designer/artist Paul Evans. But Fernandez’s most impressive gesture unfolds in the bar, where the walls and beams are enrobed in 16 luxurious coats of chocolate lacquer.

“My last place was more of a modernist, Case Study–ish house, which was ultimately not very comfortable or livable. I had a lot of couches that you’d slide off,” the producer says. “Waldo gave me a place where I can be a little messy.”

“The furnishings we selected were not primarily about provenance or pedigree,” Fernandez explains. “Darren is a pretty simple, straightforward guy. We created rooms that are chic and modern, but the real punch comes from the art collection.”

Star’s assemblage concentrates on L.A. artists, ranging from established names like John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, Robert Therrien, Mike Kelley, and John McLaughlin to younger talents such as Walead Beshty and Mark Grotjahn. Prominent works by an international roster of luminaries, including Candida Höfer and Florian Maier-Aichen, are on hand as well. “I love the idea of modern art in a home that isn’t totally modern,” Star says. “There’s a certain energy that comes out of that juxtaposition.”

Especially pleasing is the disposition of the collection, which takes full advantage of the rooms’ expansive scale. Star hasn’t shied away from dramatic tableaux, arranging a huge drawing of a disco ball by Dave Muller and an arresting bright-red Kehinde Wiley portrait around the floating stair, for instance, and letting a monumental mask by Thomas Houseago on a sturdy wood pedestal dominate a curving anteroom.

“Everything I’ve learned about living well with art—and simply living well—was brought to bear on this project,” Star says. His home is both playful and confident, as much about gracious hospitality as striking a fashionable pose. It is, in short, a place the cosmopolitan ladies of Sex and the City would surely approve of. For Star’s legions of fans, there’s no higher compliment.

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